


Astute Observation, Detectives

by UnitedKatesofAmerica



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alcohol, Body Worship, Developing Relationship, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Sexual Humor, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 21:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnitedKatesofAmerica/pseuds/UnitedKatesofAmerica
Summary: Rafael knew from the moment that he laid eyes on that horrendous mustache and the two sizes too big shirt all those years ago that Sonny was going to give him a run for his money in all aspects of his life, professionally and personally.He just never expected it to go this far.[Formally 'God Really Did That']





	Astute Observation, Detectives

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snnycarisi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snnycarisi/gifts).



> So...things are # Rough right now and I do not have the motivation, energy, or patience/concentration to do much more than think about all the things I want to write let alone continue my longer fic (I'm looking straight at Abuelita Knows Best). So I'm hoping just some small little prompts might help me over the writer's block while also giving me something else to do than stare blankly at my phone screen. 
> 
> It might be crap after it's all said and done, but hopefully someone out there in the Barisi/SVU universe gets a kick out of this.

One thing Rafael Barba always prided himself in was his sense of control, in and out of the courtroom.

Some called him a by-the-book, always above the moral line lawyer, others called him a hard-ass, among other more...colorful insults.

Nevertheless, he refused to allow anyone to sway him.

Rafael knew from the moment that he laid eyes on that horrendous mustache and the two sizes too big shirt all those years ago that Sonny was going to give him a run for his money in all aspects of his life, professionally and personally.

He just never expected it to go _this_ far. 

 _This_ meaning the inexplicable urge to stare unabashedly at the Staten Islander's splayed legs despite the fact that he was in the presence of all of their coworker--friends--as the squad sat around Olivia's apartment to celebrate successfully closing their latest case. 

It hadn't been the first time Rafael had caught himself staring, nor the second, third, or even the twelfth time. 

Not since he'd slyly offered the business card of his tailor to Sonny one day after the detective had shadowed him in court with the comment, "First lesson. No one likes a lawyer that can't afford to have well-fitted suits." 

Rafael had done the city of Manhattan a service.

And he'd admit to himself, selfishly, it was a treat for him too.

Since then, Sonny's lean torso had been accentuated by the straight cut to his waist and hip, his thin but no doubt muscled thighs on show with a slimmer taper, finished off with a straight leg to display the length of his calves downwards.

 _What those legs would look like wrapped around my hips_ , Rafael thought idly around sips of the scotch he'd kept stashed at Olivia's for nights exactly like these.

Everyone was well into their third, fourth, or fifth drinks respectively after retiring from Forlini's once Olivia had received a text from Lucy that Noah had long since fallen asleep and was tucked in bed.

He could have easily blamed his preoccupation with the long length of Sonny's perfectly tailored suit pants on the alcohol and none present would be any wiser. 

 _Maybe_ , if it weren't for the fact that he was sat in the middle of New York City's most elite squad of detectives. 

"--Earth to Barba! Hey, you alright, man?" Fin asked around the lip of his bottle of beer. "You zoned out pretty hard there for a minute." 

Rafael did his best impression of a man _not_ caught off guard and hummed around his own tumbler of scotch, green eyes tracked across the room to gauge the other's reactions to the comment. "I'm quite tired actually, just a long case that would've been infinitely easier to prosecute had you lot done your due diligence." 

"So ogling Carisi's crotch is part of our due diligence now?" Amanda butted into the conversation, earning a sharp elbow from the blond man himself. "Hey! I'm just stating the obvious!"

"Alright, cut him some slack, you guys, everybody stares off into space at the wrong time in the wrong place sometimes," Sonny was quick to defend, despite the pinked tips of his ears. "You telling me you never been slapped upside the head by your Ma for that?" 

"Can't say that I have," Amanda, Fin, _and_ Olivia all chimed in following a bout of hushed laughter. 

Before Rafael volleyed out his own sharp-witted remark, Fin and Amanda quickly teamed up to continue their verbal assault. 

"C'mon, Counselor, we've _all_ seen it," Amanda drawled, smug as she sat back against the sofa's back cushion. "The way you practically undress Carisi every time you're in the same room together."

"You're inability to remain tactful despite the field of work you're currently employed in is truly astounding," Rafael shot back, as clear of a warning fire as he could get. "No wonder victims prefer Carisi's idiotic tendencies to stumble over investigations over your 'Southern Hospitality'." 

"Hey!" Sonny interrupted. "I'm sitting right here, y'know!" 

Amanda and Fin were either drunk enough not to notice or care, however. 

"You're really not as slick as you think, Barba," Fin shook his head, empty beer bottled discarded on the coffee table in favor of ticking his fingers up as he spoke. "I mean, the squad room, interrogation, Liv's office, your office, the court room, Forlini's...I know his legs are all but twenty percent of the guy but I don't think that's justifiable cause." 

"Perhaps if he sat like an adult and not like--" Rafael motioned to in Sonny's general direction, afraid that if he looked back over he would be transfixed by the tight inseam that traveled up the insides of the detective's thighs right to his-- "a child that hasn't learned the importance of correct posture, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"

All eyes turned to Sonny who despite the insults thrown his way continued to sit just like he had, arms crossed over his chest, legs spread and knees open with both feet planted firmly on the ground. 

"You do manspread," Olivia pointed out from behind her wine glass. 

"Manspread?" Sonny repeated, confusion clear in his blue eyes. 

"Yeah, it's like, this really annoying thing men do--most of them without realizing--where they try to take up as much room as they can with their bodies to assert dominance or some shit like that," Amanda explained, copying Sonny's position and nudging his knee with hers. "See? It's so annoying on the Subway, let me tell ya." 

"Really feeling the love," Sonny huffed, gesturing to the length of his body. "I'm not doing it on purpose or whatever. You really expect all of me to fit on most pieces of furniture comfortably? This is what I gotta do." 

 _Be less distracting about it, then,_ Rafael thought as he let his eyes follow hungrily along the path Sonny's hand took down his body.

That is, he _thought_ he'd thought it until four pairs of eyes stared at him in varying degrees of shock from around the room.

"I knew it!" Amanda and Fin yelled in tandem when the silence was finally broken, earning a hard glare from Olivia as they all paused to try and hear if the outburst had roused Noah from his sleep. 

After another minute of lapsed conversation, Olivia stood and motioned to everyone else to do the same. "Alright, I think that's enough for tonight, I'd rather not have to explain to my 5 year old why he's not allowed to be a part of this. No one's driving home, so get a cab, call an Uber, or walk, but you can't stay here." 

Amanda and Fin were the first to exit, walking towards the front hallway with Olivia to slip on their coats and shoes as they continued to snicker quietly between them. 

That left Sonny and Rafael sitting in the suddenly too cramped living room by themselves before they both stood from their seats at the same time, their words fumbled between them. 

"I should--" 

"I didn't mean--"

"--it's really not like--" 

"--your legs are just--" 

"--no harm done, Counsellor," Sonny smiled that easy smile that made Rafael feel more inebriated than any amount of scotch ever could. "I take it as a compliment, really." 

Rafael swallowed as he let the detective's comment process in his mind as he weighed his current options.

He felt his carefully crafted self-control fracture piece by piece as he licked his lips, desire pooling in his gut as he preened under Sonny's sudden captivation.

"...good, that's good, then perhaps I could offer you a nightcap back at my place?" he said slowly as he took a step further into Sonny's personal space, green eyes trailed up and down the taller man's body before they landed on his eyes. Sonny really _was_ all legs. " What do you say, _Sonny_?" 

Sonny's pupils dilated until only the thinnest rim of blue could be seen around the black pools as he met Rafael's stare with matching intensity, taking a bold step forward to lean slightly over his shoulder.

"I'd like that a lot, _Rafael_ ," he murmured, the words spoken into the shell of Rafael's ear before he stepped back and motioned for Rafael to lead the way towards the front door where Olivia stood with a bemused look on her face, wine glass still perched carefully in her hand as she waited for her other guests to depart for the evening.

"Thanks for having us, Lieu," Sonny said as he appeared around the corner and wrapped her up in a brief hug. "I'll have my phone on loud if you need, I'm on call--covering 'Manda this weekend so she can spend time with Jesse and Billie."

"I know, Sonny, I'll try not to need you," Olivia nodded, patting the detective on the arm as he stepped out into the hallway, stopping Rafael before he managed to slip out behind Sonny unnoticed. "Rafa?" 

Rafael only hummed, trying for nonchalance as he looked back at his closest friend out of the corner of his eye, appreciating the view from behind as Sonny walked down the hallway and bounced on the balls of his feet by the elevator while he waited.

"Don't go too hard on him, like he said, he's on call," Olivia winked, and shut the door firmly in his face before he could reply, the sound of the lock clicking into place echoing in the ADA's ears like a gunshot. 

Rafael allowed himself to smile and rapped one knuckle on the door frame before he sauntered off after the taller man. 

There'd be no promises. 

 

 


End file.
